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im in for this too!

thats a mega bummer! nice e39 though. i personally do appreciate some 'gangsta' styled euro's .. .. but not everyone knows how to do it right even in the 'gangsta' perspective! good luck on selling your car.

yeah cheers guys. when they say appraisal/appraise a vehicle, is that another word for inspection? BMWorkshop gave me a rough quote, and it seemed fairly cheap!

thanks, that was qutie informative, will have to jott that stuff down when I start going around and looking at a few.

haha dammit, was watching it then went out! missed this bimmer part .. anyone got a link of it?

thanks for the good words guys!

yeah I've had that in the back of my mind. whos the best priced/ or most recommended, i dont know a lot of places as I've only started looking in to stuff like that, but i know theres a few out east/south aucks, the BM Workshop in greylynn, Bugers Motor Works (northshore)?

as said in my intro, at an approximate budget of around $8k. yes I am in auckland. Specs wise, im not too fussed, so it doesn't worry me too much if its a 520, 523, 528. Definitely not wanting to go to the V8 models as obvious with pricing, I dont wanna be stuck with a huge gas bill as I do travel a bit just oging to work and back. and for e38 - probably jsut a nice tidy 728 will do me. im not in it for performance, will be modifying a little bit aesthetically, and maintenance wise, then using it to cruise/drive and then probably end up selling it in short term (car wise anyways).

you guys make it sound like its hard to find one at that price. They're around though, a lot of with high kms, but theres also a few that pop up, I've seen alot without the leather interior, which is a put off for me, but with descent ks. m talking around the 130k mark. E38's are hard to find these days even at like $9-10k with mileage under 150ks. hence why I dont really mind settling for a 520 as they seem to be the cheaper option.

well have been looking at the market for quite some time now. and know a few guys who deal bimmers here and there, so know what Im looking for, and Im sorta looking for a 'good deal'. Budget range approximately up to $8k ish, but preferrably, a little under. I still have to sell my civic Im driving around in now, so its not urgent, but I am starting to look more seriously. I have seen some that I have liked in the past for very very good pricing well in line with mileage and condition, but due to the fact still having a car and not having the funds then and there caused me to miss out on quite a few descent ones I would've purchased had I had the money. So Im realistic. at that budget though, its a good step up if I stretch more (which i dont plan on doing), or a descent step down in terms of high mileage, condition, few minors here and there if I go below. I am looking at doing some cosmetic modifications (probably not to the taste of a lot of you here) and nothing like I would do with my hondas, but am probably going to modify suspension, big wheels, plus possibly audio, but nothing much more, along with a bit of descent maintenance, and I know the market is slow, so will possibly just drive it until I can find a buyer for it. Cars don't seem to be selling quick at all, unless they are filthy cheap, and Im not willing to sacrifice too much of a loss if any.

Hmm, thanks. As I stated before, my budget isn't huge, and I dont plan on hanging on to the bimmer (if I end up getting one that is) for a long period of time anyways as I do see it getting expensive. As a person who does clock up the kilometers a bit just from driving to work and back during the week, I dont really plan on holding on to one for long. I know the older models are great cars! although, they are getting old, and my taste for older cars, or want for owning one has grown short. Hence E39, or descent year E38. E38 wise - am not looking forward to getting anything beasty like the V8 model. Probably just a 728, and E39 wise, it'll be basic model once again (not Mspec'd or V8) - possibly 520, 523, 528. E46 wise, pricing is great, these days, the M specc'd ones are hitting dealerships at around the $11k mark on the low, and few are popping up here and there privately around that kind of mark as well. but thats still out of my budget. Totally understand that these vehicles are totally different to what Im use to driving, but I need a change. Im not really looking to go for the performance side of the bmw, so having the bigger v8 engine etc isn't an issue for me, it'll just cost me more in fuel bills unfortunately. although bmw's seem to be hard to pick the good ones/bad ones, mint forgiving ones, and unforgiving lemons which prove problematic.

hey, thanks for the welcome. Im not too much of an E30 fan to be honest (runs and hides), although I have seen some in the past that have been nicely modified, and I also appreciate the few that I still see around, owned by elderly mature owners which are immaculate (showroom condition etc) !! but am only really lookin to go in to an E39/E38/possibly E46 .. .. I do notice that a lot of the forums content is based a lot on E30's, and I have recently seen a bit of light to see that they are a good cheap way of getting in to motorsport/track racing etc

hey all, just have a few noob questions. as mentioned in my intro, am looking at moving to a E39/E38. For someone whos not very well BMW oriented, please be forgiving. What are some of the things I should look out for when looking at an E39/E38? what are some things that should have been replaced or had work done on, and if not, should I expect it to crap out? I dont konw a lot about the engines, but as far as I know, the E39's (520, 523, 525, 528s) didn't have cambelts? so in that regard, what kind of maintenance should have been done on them or need to be done on them? i.e waterpumps? obviously fluid servicing - oils, trans fluid, water/coolant. any particular things? anything wrong with purchasing something with high mileage, obviously with a descent paper/listed/recorded service history, they shouldnt give too much problems? please shed some light on buying higher mileage E39/38. anything wrong in particular with singarpore imports/japanese imports? how much approximately am I in for if I make a purchase, then need/want to get full service done on the vehicle through places like Burger Motor Works / BMWorkshop etc (bmw specialists who aren't dealerships)? for i.e oil/oil filter, trans fluid flush, waterpump and other related servicing.. what is recommended in terms of servicing (what needs/should be done)? thats all I can think of at the moment, thanks

hey all, I'll kep this introduction short and sweet, not too much talk, and brief. Im Ben, have been in to cars all my life bla bal bla.. .. Have been an import fan for a long time, and one of the more hated car manufacturer stables, 'honda's. been driving hondas for along time now, but recently acquired a serious lick of flavour for BMW's. Obviously being young, we can only dream of owning late model top of the line, due to financial reasons, I'm going after the lower spec, less fancy etc etc. I am planning on moving to a BMW in the future, if I can find one at reasonable price and in the condition I'm happy with. Particularly looking at E39 5 Series, and also E38 7 series, or even maybe an E46 3 series, (although preferential in that order). I dont really know a hell of a lot about the vehicles, and from time to time, I probably will ask some noob questions, or some questions that you've probably heard billions of times, but bare with me. hopefully if and once i do make a purcahse on a BMW, I will be happily looking forward to meeting some of you, and coming along to some meets as well as checking out some of the rides that are in the club, and getting active within the BS community.